


how to distract yourself from heartbreak

by kkumkkuja



Series: i like you, sorry i never meant to [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Comedy, Enemies With Benefits, M/M, Romance, chanbaek argue A LOT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29553735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kkumkkuja/pseuds/kkumkkuja
Summary: Byun Baekhyun suffers from a devastating breakup. Park Chanyeol, his sworn enemy, offers an absurd solution.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun/Wu Yi Fan | Kris
Series: i like you, sorry i never meant to [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2209953
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	how to distract yourself from heartbreak

**Author's Note:**

> (03/15/21) ALRIGHT. So, this was supposed to be a chaptered fic. But after finishing the final outline... apparently, it'll be around 30 chapters? /dramatic gasp
> 
> Unfortunately, due to uni being more demanding and stressful, I doubt I'd have the time to update frequently... so I think it's best to turn this into a series instead. For now, I'm not sure how many installments it'll take to end but rest assured, you still get to witness how their relationship develops! ^^ 
> 
> Of course, I stand by my word when I said that this is tremendously cliché, LOL. On a positive note, I might tone down the angst since it's no longer a chaptered fic. 
> 
> Anyway! In the first installment, I'll cover the backstory of how they become enemies with benefits. Thank you for reading, subscribing, and commenting. Take care.
> 
> P.S. I wasn't content with the previous title so I changed it. And it's still based on NIKI's song "I Like You". Please listen to it if you haven't, it's a BOP. 

It's been a while since Baekhyun comes to the playground near his house. He doesn't usually go there, only during rare times when he feels like being alone, struggling to find peace in the crowded city. It's very quiet at night, and he can have the swing set by himself. The last time Baekhyun was here, he was missing his family. He remembers crying after video calling his little brother, Seongmin. All of a sudden, Baekhyun regretted his choice to move to Korea, longing to reunite with his family in Japan.

It's funny how time flies and now he's here for an entirely different reason. 

Baekhyun feels thoroughly exhausted, both psychologically and mentally. He doesn't know how to handle heartache, specifically one that comes after a devastating breakup. He's cried himself to sleep for two days in a row, but it wasn't enough. So he makes the time to absent-mindedly play on the swing, drowning in his pool of misery. Baekhyun thinks about other possibilities, those that most likely won’t come true since he only wishes he could turn back time to save himself from heartbreak and the emptiness that follows after. He reflects on his pasts, searching for answers to questions of _“what went wrong?”_ and _“what did I do?”_.

Baekhyun can’t help it. He overthinks before eventually blaming himself for everything.

A Davichi’s song is playing through his _earpods_. _“Days Without You”_ , Baekhyun recalls the title without checking his phone. Another post-breakup song he listens to torture himself, welcoming the tightness in his chest and gasping for air like he's afraid of not breathing anymore. Baekhyun hates the pain, yet he doesn't try to pick up the pieces of his broken heart, holding on to old memories that'll soon fade away.

A cold breeze hits his face, and Baekhyun shudders, a few strands of hair sticking to his left cheek. The weather in Seoul has been on the colder side lately, with the wind blowing stronger at night. Yet here he is, sitting on a swing at half-past nine, eyes on the ground and mind fixated on the same person. Baekhyun isn’t sure how many minutes have passed since he started spacing out in the playground.

“Look who’s here.”

A familiar voice startles Baekhyun. He looks up in surprise, certainly not expecting to see _Park Chanyeol_ , out of 9.7 million people living in Seoul.

The Park Chanyeol who still looks ridiculously attractive wearing a faded blue _Pikachu_ sweater, plaid pajama bottoms, and a pair of dirty _Crocs._ The Park Chanyeol who becomes the center of attention everywhere he goes. The Park Chanyeol who always walks like a top model on a runway stage, even if he’s sporting the shittiest outfits Baekhyun’s ever seen. The Park Chanyeol who’s been getting on his nerves the moment Baekhyun acknowledges his existence.

The very Park Chanyeol who Baekhyun considers as his number one enemy since high school. It doesn’t help that fate arranges them to not only attend the same university, but also major in Economics.

Chanyeol proceeds to occupy the empty swing next to Baekhyun’s, grinning like the Ceshire cat from _Alice in Wonderland._ “What’s with the long face, doll?” he teases, once again deciding to ruin Baekhyun’s (already terrible) day with the annoying nickname he catcalls him all the time. “Do you live around here?”

“Fuck off, Park,” Baekhyun scowls, running out of energy to respond to the taller man. God, he just wants to suffer in peace, finishing his 3-hour heavy ballads playlist before returning home to start another _Netflix_ marathon until 5 a.m. Baekhyun takes off his _earpods_ , carefully placing them back inside their case. “Why are you even _here_?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “Well, I live nearby," the taller shoots him a wink. It's a horrendous sight Baekhyun wishes to erase from his mind. "I’ll have you know that this is my secret hideout.”

“Whatever,” Baekhyun snorts as he holds onto the ropes, getting up from the swing because he refuses to engross in any more dumb conversations with Chanyeol. They always have the most childish arguments, anyway.

Before Baekhyun could leave, however, Chanyeol awkwardly croaks out, “Get over it,” he doesn’t mean to come off as harsh. But Chanyeol isn’t sure how else he’s supposed to comfort the shorter male without sounding like he _indeed_ comforts him. If it makes any sense. His dignity is already on the line for doing it. “Breakups happen all the time.”

Baekhyun flinches, slowly turning around to furrow his eyebrows at Chanyeol. He recognizes pity in the taller’s eyes and it pisses him off even more. “How?” Baekhyun grits his teeth, anger rising in his chest with the fact that, out of all people, the person he despises the most already finds out about _their_ breakup. It literally happened two days ago, and Baekhyun had only told his closest friends about it: Kim Jongdae, Shon Seungwan, and Kris Wu. Even today during class, he successfully maintained a poker face as usual. It wasn’t like he was bombarded with questions, either. “How the fuck do you know that?”

“When you made the mistake to date the so-called hottest guy in our faculty, gossip will spread like wildfire,” Chanyeol answers as if it’s something normal. It _is_ , though, and everyone knows that there's nothing more exciting than breakup news. “Myungsoo told me about it. Seems like your ex announced your breakup rather happily to his group of friends. Even today at Starbucks, Suji and Seulgi approached me just to talk about you.”

Baekhyun clenches his fists, blinking back the tears that are threatening to fall.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, looks like he contemplates whether to continue speaking or to stay mum. As much as he feels a little sorry for Baekhyun, Chanyeol can’t help but want to shed some light on the matter. It’ll probably worsen his situation; however, it's unfair for Baekhyun to stay in the dark for too long. Hopefully, he’ll realize how much of an asshole his ex is and aspire to get revenge by snatching a hotter guy (or girl) to date. Not that Chanyeol _cares_ if Baekhyun does cry over his ex-boyfriend. He's accustomed to hating Baekhyun to feel any sympathy for him. 

Hence, Chanyeol isn't sure why he later trails off, feeling the urge to tell Baekhyun everything, “Do you know that... Bogum was courting someone while he was dating you? She’s a _Noona_ , way older than we are. From what I heard, she’s in her thirties and is a successful lawyer.”

Getting rare details from a trustworthy source is an advantage for attending those exclusive frat parties. Chanyeol doesn't find entertainment in gossip, but at least he’s gaining some useful information for Baekhyun. He feels like a fucking saint (or something) for helping out - or more like, adding more misery to - the sad midget.

When Baekhyun keeps quiet, probably trying to process the information, Chanyeol attempts to lighten up the mood by quickly adding, “Bogum, that bastard. See, this is why I hate Church boys—“

“I know,” Baekhyun interrupts him, forcing a sarcastic smile to appear unbothered. “Why do you think I _dumped_ him in the first place?” he said, his tone harsh as he walks off, finally releasing the tears he’s been holding once his back is facing Chanyeol. Baekhyun places a hand around his mouth, biting back his sobs so Chanyeol won’t hear them. It’ll be a humiliation if Chanyeol sees him like this. Baekhyun doesn’t want to look more pathetic than he already is. The fact that he trusted his ex too much not to realize he’d been two-timed is still hard to swallow.

Now he understands why it was easy for Bogum to discard him. Why would the man choose an average college boy over a successful career woman? 

“Wait,” Chanyeol mutters desperately, catching Baekhyun by the shoulder. Baekhyun panics, trying to wipe his tears but it’s too late. Chanyeol already spins the shorter man around so they’ll face each other, clicking his tongue as he tries to explain himself, “Look, I never intended to—“ Chanyeol stops, mouth agape when he gets a good look at the current state Baekhyun’s in, glancing at the tears on the corners of his eyes.

Baekhyun looks away. “What?” he stammers, avoiding Chanyeol’s somewhat sympathetic gaze. “Go ahead. Laugh at me.”

Chanyeol sighs, feeling his shoulders deflate. He takes a quick glance around the playground before grabbing Baekhyun by the wrist. The shorter man glares, but he doesn’t protest, letting Chanyeol drag him to hide behind a giant tree. It gets quieter there, pretty much a perfect corner to make out or even have a _quickie_ without being caught by anyone. “What are you doing?!” Baekhyun screams, pulling his hand away roughly. Chanyeol closes his ears, mumbling _"fuck, you're so loud"_ under his breath. “Touch me again and I'll kill you!”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You aren’t my type,” Chanyeol remarks snarky, rolling his eyes at the stupid accusation. “You know Jongin, right? He visits this place a lot with Sehun. You’ll be surprised to see what they do under that big slide,” he lets out a playful chuckle, obviously referring to their dirty rendezvous, earning a horrified look from Baekhyun. And that’s on _TMI_. “Anyway, I’m just making sure that we're safe. Wouldn’t want anyone to find out you were crying over Bogum, would we?”

Baekhyun supposes Chanyeol is right. He then takes out his handkerchief, angrily wiping his tears away with it. Chanyeol absolutely doesn’t think it’s adorable. Baekhyun doesn’t return Chanyeol’s gaze when he replies, “Stop acting nice, Park. It doesn’t suit you.”

Chanyeol narrows his eyes. “Really, now? _Tsk_ , talk about being ungrateful..." he tries to appear cool and unaffected, but he secretly watches every small movement Baekhyun makes. Even under the dim street light, Chanyeol realizes that every inch of Baekhyun’s face is beyond flawless: pretty golden eyes; a cute button nose; and thin, pink lips. A masterpiece that God definitely took time to shape, slowly and carefully sculpted to reach perfection. His face alone would put Aphrodite to shame.

Of course, despite hating his guts, Chanyeol secretly finds Baekhyun beautiful. He’s always had an eye for stunning men who are worthy of his chase, anyway, and the moment he laid his eyes on Baekhyun on the first day of high school orientation, Chanyeol might or might not have considered pursuing the shorter male. That was until something happened and they were suddenly at each other’s neck, announcing to the world that they’re archenemies.

And now he regrets all the opportunities he’s missed to observe Baekhyun up close.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Chanyeol blurts out, unable to take his eyes away.

Baekhyun frowns. “What?”

“You.”

“Huh?” 

“You're beautiful... it doesn’t make sense,” Chanyeol finds himself saying, furrowing his eyebrows like it actually offends him. Baekhyun cringes, mirroring his expression, except it is to show bewilderment. At other times, Chanyeol believes he’d rather play hide and seek with that kid from _Ju-On_ than to express his admiration towards the annoying midget. That being said, today, he’ll say whatever comes to his mind. No holding back. “You look like a mess. Your bangs are all over the place. Your face is flushed and your eyes are swollen from crying. Even then, you still look like you walk out of a fairytale. It doesn’t fucking make sense,” Chanyeol is blabbering like a lunatic, and Baekhyun continues staring at him like he just grows another head.

It takes more than a moment for Baekhyun to finally splutter, “I— _what_?” he looks conflicted to thank Chanyeol for the random compliment or yell at him for the absolute nonsense he’s spouting (the latter sounds like a better option at the moment). Either way, this is _the_ Park Chanyeol he’s dealing with. Baekhyun needs to be extra careful because Heaven knows the taller fucks with him on a daily basis as a form of sick entertainment.

“It’s unfair,” Chanyeol’s voice drops an octave lower, an unreadable expression on his face. He keeps his gaze locked on Baekhyun’s lips, making Baekhyun want to shrink into a tiny mouse and teleport away. “God really played favorites with you, Byun.”

Baekhyun clears his throat, his heart making a weird flip in his chest. There's something off about Chanyeol; while Baekhyun is (kind of) flattered, he doesn't have a good feeling about it. “Whatever,” Baekhyun retorts lamely, obviously distracted by Chanyeol's lingering gaze. It affects his concentration to come up with brilliant insults, which is a shame, _really_ , because he's the best in that area. “I’m leaving.”

Chanyeol extends his toned arm in front of Baekhyun, effectively blocking his escape. “Wait.”

“What now?” Baekhyun almost growls in frustration, “Get out of my way, Park.”

There’s something akin to a mixture of lust and awe in Chanyeol’s eyes. He takes another moment to admire the view (read: Baekhyun) before casually stating, coming off very confident despite how _absurd_ he sounds, “I want to kiss you.”

Baekhyun almost chokes on air.

There's a long, awkward silence as they merely stare at each other. One in unusual adoration, and the other in utter puzzlement. Baekhyun’s still gaping when he nearly squeaks, “You— _uhm_ , what?” he unconsciously drops his handkerchief to the ground, scandalized by the statement (declaration?) Chanyeol makes with a perfectly nonchalant tone someone would use when they greet their bratty cousins at Christmas dinner. Except it’s September; they’re enemies and Chanyeol unceremoniously declared that he wants to kiss him, when all they do is getting into stupid fights whenever they bump into each other. Baekhyun fails to get a hold of himself; it's difficult not to freak out when Chanyeol is acting weird. “What the _fuck_ did you just say?"

Chanyeol surprisingly remains calm. It seems like Baekhyun is the only one thinking _what sort of fuckery is this_. “You heard me. I want to kiss you,” he repeats, and instead of backing out, the taller man has the audacity to touch Baekhyun’s hair, stroking a few strands before dragging his hand down to his cheek (and may he add, in a _slow-motion_ like it's _Goblin_ 2.0), rough finger grazing against the soft skin. The sexual tension between them is thick, and Baekhyun trembles, unable to hear anything except for his heart pounding in his ears. "Can I?" Chanyeol asks hoarsely, and for some reason, Baekhyun can’t bring himself to protest, even when Chanyeol is currently taking his time to slowly trace his face. Chanyeol's touch is dangerously intoxicating, and Baekhyun knows better than to let Chanyeol take advantage of him when he's vulnerable.

However, instead of yelling at the enemy to stop, Baekhyun strangely craves for _more_.

“Stupid Bogum,” Chanyeol says softly, caressing Baekhyun’s cheek like it’s made of glass: too fragile to be handled without care. Baekhyun flinches, brown orbs following wherever the taller moves his hand. “He'll regret letting you go.”

Baekhyun swallows hard, struggling to break free from Chanyeol's hypnotizing eyes. There are so many things he wants to say, mainly to humiliate the hell out of Chanyeol, but Baekhyun can always skip the formalities just to simply punch Chanyeol in the face and pretend like nothing happens the next day. However, every offensive choice of words vanishes from his brain, leaving him with nothing but barely audible stutters of _“what?”_ as he grips on his oversized cardigan, every part of his body seems to freeze under Chanyeol's spell.

_Shit._

Chanyeol leans in, invading their personal space and almost closing the distance between them. Baekhyun takes a step back, intimidated by Chanyeol’s heavy breathing, hot air blowing against his face. “Chan—Chanyeol?” he tries, his throat dry with eyes glued to Chanyeol's lips. They’re only apart by a few inches, and Baekhyun is suddenly aware of Chanyeol’s arm around his waist, preventing him from running. That sneaky bastard. When the hell did that even happen? “I’ll kill you if you kiss me,” he threatens weakly but cowers when Chanyeol smirks in return.

“Try me, then,” the taller challenges, tilting his head before finally connecting their lips.

Chanyeol kisses like a hungry animal, too eager to feel and taste more of Baekhyun while it lasts. His hand is holding Baekhyun’s neck to keep him steady, head lowered to nibble on Baekhyun’s bottom lip, as the other squeezes his waist. While Baekhyun’s still in disbelief that he’ll get intimate with his enemy somewhere in his lifetime, the shorter eventually falls into the violent kiss not long after, enjoying every second of the way their mouths collide with each other. None of them wants to stop, and once every few minutes, Chanyeol will pause to catch his breath before claiming Baekhyun’s lips again, deepening the already intense kiss. Apparently, Chanyeol seems thrilled to prove that he’s an expert in the making-out area, judging by how he works his tongue inside Baekhyun’s mouth, exploring anywhere he can reach, their tongues dancing a little too messily. Chanyeol groans when Baekhyun seeks dominance by thrusting his tongue into Chanyeol’s mouth, hands gripping each side of his face.

It’s getting hot. Chanyeol already has his hand underneath Baekhyun’s shirt, and Baekhyun wants to tear off Chanyeol’s sweater to feel his warmth.

_Byun Baekhyun, what the fuck are you doing?!_

A voice in his head warns him. Instead of obeying it, Baekhyun moans, bringing their bodies closer until their chests are touching.

_This is Park Chanyeol you’re making out with!_

Yet Baekhyun doesn’t push Chanyeol away.

It’s too late to stop, and he thinks he’s a little too drunk on Chanyeol’s kisses.

-

Baekhyun regrets everything.

It was a mistake he could’ve avoided, but he chose to say no and go with it.

Somewhere in the middle of their makeout session, Baekhyun suddenly broke the kiss and dashed off like a scaredy-cat, making his escape before Chanyeol could even grasp his wrist and prolong their kiss. His pulse was hammering in his head, and Baekhyun didn’t bother looking back to see Chanyeol’s reaction, other than the taller’s dazed eyes when he'd pushed him away. As soon as he was home, Baekhyun hastily washed his face and brushed his teeth three times, taking an additional five minutes to get rid of Chanyeol’s saliva around his mouth, even if he knew it was already too late for that.

It’s a relief that he successfully stopped Chanyeol before the situation got out of control. As in, Chanyeol could've had his cock buried in his ass, for example.

Baekhyun internally shudders at the horrifying thought. The more he recalls the feeling of Chanyeol’s lips on his own, the more Baekhyun becomes disgusted by the fact that he’s spent nearly fifteen minutes devouring each other. Fuck, he must’ve been too depressed to reject his invitation and Chanyeol cheerfully utilized him for his own benefit. Baekhyun swears he's going to murder him tomorrow and make the guy regret pouncing on him in the first place. 

Most important of all, that sly motherfucker better not spill any “tea” regarding this preposterous incident to anyone.

Widening his eyes in realization, Baekhyun grabs his phone from the table to message Chanyeol and propose a deal. He hopes the taller man will see that it's essential to cooperate with him. Besides, who knows what goes on inside that cunning mind of his? There's a 99,9% chance the man would surprise Baekhyun with his unpredictable stunts for his own amusement. Simply because he’s fucking annoying like that.

For a good twenty seconds, Baekhyun wonders how he should start the conversation before deciding to fuck it and sending a simple,

**Byun Baekhyun: Park. [21:45]**

Chanyeol's reply literally comes at the same time. It's almost as if they have some telepathic connection. Baekhyun has to admit that it's quite fascinating.

**Park Chanyeol: Byun. [21:45]**

**Park Chanyeol: LOL. [21:45]**

Baekhyun skips all the unnecessary chit-chats and gets straight to the point.

**Byun Baekhyun: Whatever happened today, let's pretend it didn’t happen. [21:46]**

**Byun Baekhyun: I was grieving over a stupid breakup. And you were... [21:46]**

**Byun Baekhyun: ...perhaps in the mood for some fun. Whatever. It’s none of my business. And I wouldn’t blame you for starting it since I ended up participating in it, anyway. [21:47]**

**Byun Baekhyun: I admit it was very foolish of me to engage in such a ridiculous act. I promise it won’t happen again in the future. [21:49]**

**Byun Baekhyun: As a settlement, I’ll keep “this” a secret from everyone. Including my closest friends. No one will know, except us. I sincerely hope you’ll do the same. [21:50]**

**Byun Baekhyun: Also, just in case you're inclined to joke about it in public... I can assure you that it'll only fuck us up. Do you want people to assume that we're dating? I'd think wisely if I were you. [00:53]**

This time, Chanyeol doesn't reply right away, so Baekhyun goes to check other chats.

 **Kim Jongdae: Hi, Baek. I saw your tweets. Are you okay? Want me to come over? I’ll bring _jajangmyeon_! Let's have another _Netflix_ marathon, baby! ****ヾ(ﾟｪﾟゞ) P.S.** **I’m not sure if Kris will come, though. He’s been MIA for 31 hours now...** **[21:13]**

**Kim Jongdae: Seungwan is coming with me!1 [21:13]**

Baekhyun giggles. He’s grateful to have the kindest people as his close friends in university, all being in the same major and year. First, there’s Seungwan, his motherly cousin who’s been taking care of him since they were young. Second, Jongdae, a cheerful guy they met during orientation and happens to share the same interest in music. 

**Byun Baekhyun: Sure ^^ It’s already late, though. Be careful. Drive safe. WEAR THE FUCKING SEATBELTS ♥ [21:51]**

Baekhyun exits Jongdae’s chatroom before proceeding to scroll down, spotting one new chat from what he calls as his support system. Baekhyun opens it, attentively reading the long text with a smile on his face.

**Kris Wu: Baekhyun... I’m sorry for messaging you so late. I’ve been busy tutoring a few students lately. Jongdae texted me about what happened. Cheer up, Baekhyun. Don’t blame yourself. It isn’t your fault. You did your best. Give yourself some time to rest and avoid social media. Trust me, you’ll come back stronger than you already are. I’m always one call away if you need someone to talk to. Let’s meet up if you have time. Only if you aren’t busy or lazy, haha. [21:23]**

That's Kris. A quiet, diligent student from Canada. He’s awfully awkward in socializing, but is always getting straight _As_ every semester. The three of them barely relate with Kris, all being a social butterfly while Kris prefers staying out of the crowd, but their friendship remains stronger in their second year of university.

 **Byun Baekhyun: Thank you, Kris. It means a lot. You have the best way to cheer people up! Please let me take you out for dinner! T___T How about we meet up @ Exodus this Saturday? ‘** **ㅅ** **’** **I missed hanging out with you! [21:56]**

It takes three hours of finishing a huge bowl of _jajangmyeon_ with Jongdae and Seungwan, while watching the first two episodes of _Designated Survivor_ on _Netflix_ before Chanyeol finally responds to his chat. Baekhyun was wrong to expect a long, formal speech when all he’s gotten is a simple:

 **Park Chanyeol: OK. Whatever.** **[00:51]**

Baekhyun glares at his phone, furiously pressing some letters on the keyboard.

 **Byun Baekhyun: You better take this seriously.** **[00:52]**

 **Byun Baekhyun: I’m trying to do us a favor here, you piece of shit.** **[00:52]**

**Park Chanyeol: Language, Byun. [00:53]**

**Byun Baekhyun: So? YES or YES?** **[00:53]**

**Park Chanyeol: I’ll think about it. [00:54]**

**Park Chanyeol: JK. My lips are sealed. It wasn’t a big deal, anyway. ;) [05:55]**

**Byun Baekhyun: Good. It’s settled, then.** **[00:52]**

**Park Chanyeol: Whatever, now where’s my good night kiss? [00:54]**

Baekhyun leaves him on read.


End file.
